Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is currently in talks with “one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving (FSD)”.
Back in 2021, Musk did say that he had early discussions with other automakers about licensing self-driving technology, but that didn’t result in anything.
Last yr, the CEO made an announcement that Tesla can be open to licensing Autopilot and FSD to other automakers.
However, earlier this yr, Musk said that “automakers don’t believe Tesla Full Self-Driving is real”.
Now, the CEO has given an update about the FSD licensing effort through the conference call following the discharge of Tesla’s Q1 2024 results.
Musk announced that Tesla is “in talks with one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving.”
The CEO didn’t reveal which major automaker Tesla is talking to, but he did say that there’s “a good chance” a deal is signed this yr.
However, Tesla’s management did mention that even when a licensing deal comes this yr, it could likely be 3 years before an OEM can implement it right into a vehicle program.
Tesla plans to produce its self-driving on-board computers and cameras to OEMs and license them the software, which Tesla currently sells for $8,000 or $99 a month.
Electrek’s Take
I could see Tesla convincing one or two OEMs now that it has v12, which is way more viable than anything it had before – giving a much-needed credibility boost to its self-driving effort.
When it involves actual automakers, Tesla does appear to be ahead for level 4 autonomous driving. Waymo is obviously ahead because it is commercially deployed already, albeit with a unique geo-fenced approach. But it’s also not an automaker.
If we talk about automakers outside of China, aside from Mercedes-Benz with its level 3 system, Tesla is leading, in my opinion.
I could see an automaker like Ford being interested. Tesla has been getting closer to the corporate in recent years, for instance, it was the primary to adopt NACS. The company also had some bad luck with investments into self-driving, like partnering with Argo Ai, which went under.
The company may very well be interested in off-loading autonomy completely to Tesla – regardless that it is an enormous concession.
I’m sure that if it does occur, the move will likely be criticized because Telsa has yet to realize self-driving. However, if v12 can construct enough confidence to indicate a transparent path to get there, I can see a deal happening quick because as Tesla highlighted, it can take years to integrate the technology into one other OME’s vehicle program.
Credit : electrek.co